After raising almost $24,000, the Milton Police Department is moving forward in the process to re-establish a K-9 unit, said community outreach officer Ara Baronian.

The department raised the money through its K-9 Support Golf Fundraiser held last week at Echelon Golf Club in Alpharetta.

“Our event was a huge success,” Baronian said. “We had 114 participants. We had enormous support from companies such as Target, Scratch, Cue BBQ, Country Financial, The Wood Group, STMicroelectronics, Simply Simpatico, Echelon Golf Club and many more, along with several individual citizen donations.”

The department hoped to raise $30,000 to cover the costs of the dog and the training as well as associated costs including equipment, vehicle modifications, food and veterinarian services.

“Although our goal was set at $30,000, we raised enough funds to purchase the K-9 and begin the process,” Baronian said. “The next step is to have interested officers apply for the K-9 handler position and once chosen, he or she will train for six weeks with the K-9 at the training facility.

“Prior to that, the officer’s patrol vehicle will have been outfitted with special equipment to handle the necessary requirements, such as automatic pop-out doors, a specialized cooling and monitoring system, kennel, and more.”

Milton police have been without a K-9 officer since retiring their police dog DaSilva in December. DaSilva protected officers in dangerous situations and helped the police track people and drugs. The dog was donated to the police by a private citizen and retired after about five years when his handler, former Milton police officer Brian Kiel, left the department.

The Milton Police Department has been relying on the assistance of K-9 units from neighboring departments, including Alpharetta, in the interim.

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